Ameripolitan Awards Announce 2024 Nominees and a Return to Austin
24 CommentsThe nominees for the 2024 Ameripolitan Awards have just been announced, and its a who’s who of independent performers who you’ve probably have seen mentioned here at Saving Country Music before.
This Upcoming Garth Brooks Single Could Be Very Interesting
54 CommentsGranted, you’re making a perilous decision pinning your hopes on someone like Garth Brooks to help turn the needle to the positive in popular country. But a big honky tonk song from him could give the emerging movement a big boost. We’ll just have to see.
Beefy Lineup Announced for Willie Nelson Makeup Show
7 CommentsRemember a couple of weeks back when the 85-year-old Willie Nelson had the runs so bad he couldn’t perform in Charlotte? They’ve announced additional performers for the makeup date, and all of a sudden what was supposed to be a simple makeup performance for Willie has turned into a pretty badass show all unto itself.
Jason Isbell Announces New Album “Live At The Ryman” + New Ryman Dates
10 CommentsJason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s next album will be a live one recorded at the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. And as part of the release, he will play another one of his historic residencies at the historical landmark—a place he’s sold out for 14 consecutive dates and counting.
Album Review – Dierks Bentley’s “The Mountain”
65 CommentsBentley’s new record The Mountain is not some dramatic return to his bluegrass roots, and it’s probably not even fair to call it rootsy aside from a few songs. But it is a return to Dierks Bentley doing what he does best, which is putting out good, quality, often inspiring songs that are raised in importance since they’re something you enjoy with others.
“Keeping Nashville’s Honky Tonk Alive” Looks Into the Effort to Preserve Traditional Country
55 CommentsAmid the rubble of what Nashville once was, lurking in the shadows of the condominium high rises and prefabricated mixed use block developments spanning across the city like a contagion, there is a thriving and vibrant honky tonk movement doing what it can to keep the old style of country music alive.
Song Review – Kane Brown’s “Lose It”
78 CommentsThe future of mainstream country music looks and sounds like Kane Brown—meaning bad neck tattoos and a monotone delivery of terrible songs. The only question left is what the future of mainstream country looks like if artists like Kane Brown are leading it.
Dolly Parton Partners with Netflix to Bring More Songs to Movie Form
13 CommentsMore movies based off the iconic songs of Dolly Parton are on the way, and this time they will be distributed through the streaming giant Netflix. Announced this week, Dolly Parton has signed with the subscription service to debut eight new movies based off of her legendary songs in the coming months and years.
Album Review – Tim Culpepper’s “DUI (Drinkin’ Under The Influence)”
32 CommentsNow that we’re starting to see a lot of the 80’s and 90’s era traditional-style country starting to make a comeback, an artist like Tim Culpepper all of a sudden comes across as pretty damn cool, even though it’s more the listening trends shifting towards him, instead of vice versa.
Vintage Album Review – “Willie and Family Live”
28 CommentsPound for pound, if you’re looking the most enjoyable record of Willie Nelson’s career, the one that captures him at his creative apex the most, the one that birthed some of his most lasting contributions to recorded music, it’s not a studio record of his at all. It’s a double live album he recorded in April of 1978 at Harrah’s Casino in Lake Tahoe.
How The CMT Awards Rendered Themselves Irrelevant in 2018
37 CommentsThe CMT Awards transpired Wednesday night, June 6th at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. Did you notice? Most likely not. Did you tune in and follow along? Even more unlikely. But this isn’t just about ratings. This is about the overall impact of the awards, or the lack thereof.
Saving Country Music’s Best Songs of 2018 So Far
59 CommentsThese six songs are admittedly sad bastard fare if there ever was any, but that’s the way it goes when you’re looking for songs that don’t just entertain, but fulfill, or illuminate something important in life most catchy tunes fall short of.
Two Unheard Jason Isbell Songs Precede Reissue of “Sirens Of The Ditch”
28 CommentsThose hungry for some new tunes from Jason Isbell just got a tasty, surprise treat in the form of two previously-unheard studio tracks that precede the reissue of one of Jason Isbell’s back catalog albums. Sirens Of The Ditch was Isbell’s first proper solo studio record, released in 2007 by New West Records.